New England Research

Name

New England Research

Legal name

New England Research, Inc.

Website

https://ner.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

White River Junction

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Systems Sales (Hardware): One-time sale of NER-designed and manufactured AutoLab (1000/1500/2000/HTHP/3000/SuperHot), AutoScan, BenchLab and TinyPerm/Benchtop Velocity instruments to universities, national labs and oil & gas companies worldwide.
2. Measurement & Consulting Services: Project-based revenue from custom and routine rock properties measurement services, multiscale reservoir characterization, single plug protocols, model calibration/upscaling and applied research engagements delivered by NER's professional staff.
3. Modeling & Digital Twin Services: Physics-based numerical modeling, integrated THMC characterization and digital-twin consulting engagements for fracture, proppant, injection/production, wellbore stability and grain-scale problems.
4. Training Services: Tailored remote, online and in-person training on all NER systems, delivered during apparatus assembly, post-installation, on experience milestones, during annual maintenance visits, or at NER facilities.
5. Custom Devices & Engineered Products: Bespoke engineering of niche rock-testing accessories and sub-systems such as velocity end caps, radial velocity end jackets, resistivity end caps, hollow cylinder cells, LVDT calibration tools, Brazil test systems, thermal conductivity cells, saturation vessels, true triaxial devices, and acoustic emission sensors.
6. Government / R&D Grant Funding: Non-dilutive funding from agencies such as ARPA-E (e.g., GEOH2 project) used to advance AutoLab capabilities for geologic hydrogen and other energy applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

New England Research designs and manufactures specialized laboratory systems (AutoLab servo-hydraulic triaxial family, AutoScan non-destructive core-scanning platform, BenchLab bench-top modules, TinyPerm portable permeameter) and proprietary software (AutoLab v6, DataMiner) for measuring rock properties at in-situ reservoir conditions. The company also delivers project-based rock-properties measurement services, physics-based numerical modeling and digital-twin consulting, and tailored training programs, serving oil & gas, geothermal, CCUS, geologic hydrogen and nuclear waste storage clients worldwide.

Product overview

New England Research (NER), established in 1985, is a rock physics laboratory systems manufacturer and measurement services provider whose offering is a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on two complementary hardware platforms. The AutoScan is the non-destructive core-scanning platform for ambient-condition measurement of core properties (ultrasonic velocity, complex electrical impedance, impulse hammer, gas permeability, FTIR, digital photography) supported by the proprietary DataMiner analysis software for rock typing and petrophysical modeling. Core plugs are then tested in the AutoLab series of servo-hydraulic triaxial systems at in-situ pressure, temperature, and pore fluid conditions, all controlled by the proprietary AutoLab v6 software platform. The AutoLab family spans the AutoLab 1000 (hydrostatic), AutoLab 1500 and 2000 (triaxial), AutoLab 3000 (heated vessel for fluid interactions), AutoLab HTHP, SuperHot AutoLab (450°C), and the AutoLab Rock Physics Workstation (uniaxial + hydrostatic combination). Smaller-format and portable instruments include the BenchLab Systems (7000 series), TinyPerm 3 handheld permeameter, and Benchtop Velocity Station, with NER-built custom accessories (end caps, true triaxial device, acoustic emissions, etc.) extending measurement capability. NER also delivers laboratory measurement services (Multiscale Reservoir Characterization, Single Plug Protocols, Model Calibration and Upscaling, Routine Measurements, Applied Research) and Modeling Services with physics-based digital twins for coupled THMC processes in geothermal, geologic hydrogen, CO2 storage, and oil and gas applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AutoScan: NER's unique non-destructive measurement platform developed for detailed quantitative description of core properties (rock typing, plug selection, well-log calibration), with interchangeable probes for ultrasonic velocity, complex electrical impedance, impulse hammer testing, gas permeability, FTIR, and digital photography.
• AutoLab
• BenchLab
• TinyPerm 3
• DataMiner

Products and services

• AutoLab 1000 Servo-hydraulically controlled hydrostatic system for measuring compressional and shear wave velocities, permeability, electrical resistivity, pore volume compressibility and linear compressibility on rock specimens at in-situ overburden and pore pressures up to 100 MPa and temperatures up to 150°C. Targets academic, national lab and oil & gas customers performing standard rock mechanics measurements.
• AutoLab 1500 Compact stiff triaxial apparatus (20 MN/mm stiffness) for coupled process petrophysical and rock mechanics experiments on samples up to 50 mm diameter at overburden pressure, pore pressure and temperatures up to 150 MPa and 175°C. Supports strain, compressional and shear wave velocities, permeability, complex impedance and acoustic emissions.
• AutoLab 2000 Versatile, servo-hydraulic, large-bore triaxial system for coupled process experiments with extensive instrumentation or complex configurations on samples up to 102 mm diameter. Includes 40 high-pressure electrical feedthroughs for simultaneous deformation, velocity and permeability measurements.
• AutoLab 3000 Unique triaxial apparatus with pressure vessel and pore-fluid intensifiers housed in a furnace heating the entire system to 150°C, designed to examine rock/pore-fluid chemical interactions on geomechanical and petrophysical rock properties. Enables injection of pore fluids without thermal shock and collection of fluid samples at measurement temperature and pressure.
• AutoLab HTHP Enhanced version of the AutoLab 1500 with maximum temperature of 350°C (660°F) and confining pressure of 200 MPa (29,000 psi) using an internal furnace at higher temperatures (optimal sample diameter 25 mm). Supports all AutoLab 1500 features below 175°C.
• SuperHot AutoLab High-temperature (450°C / 840°F) moderate-pressure (100 MPa) servo-hydraulic system configured for geothermal and hydrogen research. Measures fracture permeability, rock/fluid chemistry interactions, rock strength, coefficient of friction, stick-slip/stable sliding and brittle-ductile transition. Includes a titanium-pressure-boundary variant for geologic hydrogen studies.
• AutoLab Rock Physics Workstation Versatile servo-hydraulic apparatus combining a uniaxial stress test frame (375 kN max force) for unconfined compressive strength, elastic constants, compressional and shear wave velocities, fracture toughness and Brazil indirect tensile strength, integrated with an AutoLab 1000 hydrostatic pressure vessel.
• AutoScan Non-destructive measurement platform with a high-precision computer-controlled XY gantry that positions interchangeable probes (ultrasonic velocity, complex electrical impedance, impulse hammer, gas permeability, FTIR, digital photography) at programmed locations with measurement intervals as small as 0.1 millimeter, supporting up to 4 meters of core per setup for rock typing, plug selection and well-log calibration.
• BenchLab Systems Modular bench-top and floor-model systems (BenchLab 7000, 7100 PoroPerm, 7200 Velocity, 7300 Resistivity, 7400 Low Permeability) for measuring petrophysical rock properties at reservoir pressures in a compact setup. Configurable with ultrasonic velocity, Hassler-sleeve permeability, electrical resistivity, external furnace to 200°C, and confining/liquid pore pressure up to 10,000 PSI; supports CO2 testing.
• TinyPerm 3 Portable, handheld air permeameter for measurement of rock matrix permeability or effective fracture apertures on outcrops and at the core scale. Permeability range 1 millidarcy to 10 darcys for intact rock; fracture apertures from approximately 10 microns to 2 millimeters.
• Benchtop Velocity Station Compact, desktop ultrasonic velocity system for acquiring one compressional and two orthogonally polarized shear waves at ambient conditions on specimens 1.0–2.0 inches in diameter and 1.0–4.0 inches long at center frequency 500 kHz–1 MHz. Includes data acquisition system, laptop, oscilloscope and AutoLab software.
• AutoLab v6 Software Proprietary control and data acquisition software for the AutoLab series with a built-in que system for graphical assembly of advanced protocols; generates Python scripts from user inputs, stores data in a Postgres database with full querying, and provides automated analyses/reporting with experiment-specific modules for velocity and permeability processing. Sold with and as part of AutoLab systems.
• DataMiner Software for interactive plotting and data analysis of AutoScan data, including petrophysical modeling, geostatistical model building and rock type identification through cluster analysis. Supports multi-property cluster analysis, ternary plots, crossplots, depth shifting, smoothing/filtering, interpolation and ASCII export.
• Rock Properties Measurement Services Project-based in-house measurement services at NER's Vermont laboratory using AutoLab and AutoScan systems, including Multiscale Reservoir Characterization, Single Plug Protocols, Model Calibration and Upscaling, Routine Measurements and Applied Research. Customers ship rock samples to NER for routine and custom measurements.
• Modeling Services and Physics-Based Digital Twins Modeling service integrating THMC coupled subsurface characterization testing and advanced imaging with coupled models, advanced constitutive laws and physics-based digital twins for oil & gas, geothermal, hydrogen production, nuclear waste storage and subsurface storage. Includes high-resolution fracture models, proppant deformation/crush models, coupled production/injection models, wellbore stress/stability models and grain-scale fracture/damage models.
• Training Services Tailored remote, online and in-person training on all NER systems, covering theory of operation, component operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, sample preparation, experiment setup, protocol configuration and data reduction. Training can be scheduled during apparatus assembly, post-installation, on experience milestones, during annual maintenance visits, or at NER facilities.
• Custom Devices and Engineered Products Bespoke engineering of niche rock-testing accessories and sub-systems including Velocity End Caps, Radial Velocity End Jacket, Resistivity End Caps, Hollow Cylinder, LVDT Calibration Tool, Brazil Test System, Thermal Conductivity Cell, Saturation Vessel, True Triaxial Device and Acoustic Emissions sensors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 238 peer-reviewed journal articles (Google Scholar, as of May 2025) referencing NER's AutoLab apparatuses since 2004
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• ARPA-E Energy Innovation SummitcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 April 2026NER participated in the 2026 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit (April 7-9, San Diego, CA) with booth 503, using the event as a platform to showcase new testing/modeling technology to energy industry leaders.
• Granite Creek CopperflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2025Granite Creek Copper and New England Research (NER) announced a collaboration to enhance the ARPA-E funded GEOH2 project exploring geologic hydrogen opportunities. NER contributes subsurface energy research expertise, advanced testing systems and modeling; Granite Creek Copper is the field/operator partner.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vinci Technologies: French manufacturer of rock physics, core analysis and reservoir laboratory instruments (e.g., AutoFlood, RockTriaxial systems). Direct peer in HTHP rock mechanics lab equipment serving the same oil & gas, geothermal and CCUS research customers.
• GCTS Testing Systems: US-based manufacturer of rock and soil mechanics laboratory testing systems (triaxial, true triaxial, Hollow Cylinder). Direct peer in servo-hydraulic rock mechanics equipment for academic and energy-sector research labs.
• OFI Testing Equipment: Manufacturer of oilfield and petroleum laboratory testing equipment including rheometers, permeameters and core analysis instruments. Direct peer supplying hardware to upstream operators and research institutions.

Emerging players

• Epslog: European developer of petrophysical and rock physics laboratory measurement systems for core analysis. Comparable niche overlap with NER's AutoLab family in permeability and resistivity measurements.
• Petroleum Engineering Services (PES / Coretest Systems): Provider of core analysis and rock properties measurement services and equipment for the oil & gas industry. Niche peer with overlapping core flooding, SCAL and rock mechanics testing offerings.
• Sandstone GeoAnalytics: Specialty rock properties and petrophysics consulting/services firm focused on tight reservoirs, unconventionals and CCUS. Comparable as a niche rock-physics services player competing for similar geoscience and reservoir characterization engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Core Laboratories: Large publicly traded provider of reservoir description and production enhancement services, including rock properties analysis and SCAL/RCAL programs. Broad incumbent that overlaps NER in rock properties measurement services for E&P operators.
• SLB (Schlumberger): Global oilfield services giant with digital, exploration and reservoir laboratory capabilities (including former TerraTek assets). Broad incumbent overlapping NER in rock mechanics testing, modeling and CCUS/geothermal measurement services.
• Fugro: Global geoscience and offshore site investigation company offering geotechnical laboratory testing services. Broad incumbent with overlapping rock and soil mechanics testing capabilities for energy and infrastructure projects.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection and certification company providing laboratory rock and material testing services. Broad incumbent operating in adjacent lab-based testing services for the energy sector.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New England Research